Intelligence materials on Ukraine, Iran and the United Kingdom found in Biden’s private office

(CNN) — between Classified documents Uncovered in a private office last fall as Joe Biden’s vice president were U.S. intelligence memos and briefing materials dealing with topics including Ukraine, Iran and the United Kingdom, a source familiar with the matter said.

A total of 10 documents were found in Biden’s private education office last year and were dated between 2013 and 2016, the source said.

The boxes containing these classified records also contained personal documents from the Biden family, including information about Biden’s funeral. Beau BidenThe source told CNN.

CNN previously reported that US Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed the US attorney in Chicago, controlled by the Trump administration, to investigate the matter. Garland took this step after receiving a recommendation from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

The documents were discovered on November 2, six days before the midterm elections, but the matter did not become public until Monday.

Biden’s personal attorney is closing the downtown Washington office Biden used as part of his work at the University of Pennsylvania, a source told CNN. The lawyer saw an envelope marked as personal documents of the former vice chancellor, opened the envelope and realized that there were confidential documents inside. The lawyer sealed the envelope and called Nara, the source said.

After contacting NARA, Biden’s team moved several boxes as a precaution, many of which contained personal items, the source said.

The judiciary must decide how to proceed

Lash Jr. has already completed the initial part of his investigation, a source familiar with his work told CNN, and presented his preliminary findings to Garland.

That means Garland now faces a critical decision about how to proceed, including whether or not to launch a full criminal investigation. Garland was personally involved in some of the key decisions related to the investigation of the Trump documents and the decision to send the FBI to search Mar-a-Lago.

As one of the two remaining U.S. attorneys appointed by Trump, Garland decided to let Lash investigate the Biden documents and avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest because he was not appointed by Biden, the people explained. .

Lasch was one of the few Trump-era officials to remain in office after Biden took office in 2021, and both Illinois Democratic senators supported the decision to keep him in his post because of his handling of the politically sensitive investigation of Michael Madigan. Ex-Speaker of Illinois House Accused of Corruption